Seeyoulator Doppelbock | Boulevard Brewing Co.

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Notes / Commercial Description:
Doppelbock was first brewed in Munich around 1700 by the monks of Saint Francis of Paula, to sustain them through the Lenten fast. They called their full-bodied brew “Salvator.” Today it is customary to pay homage to the good brothers by giving doppelbocks names ending in “-ator.” Our version bids a fond aufwiedersehen to tradition, charting a flight path into bold new territory. Medium amber in color, it offers a heady, estery banana aroma. Rich maltiness predominates, with cedar aging lending just a hint of spice to the finish.

It is spring, it is the time for bocks and dopplebocks. This,magoney with a big white bubbly head. A nice mouthfeel. But whereas goeth the cedar? Mostly malt,flavorful with some spice and fruit, and above average carbonation. Drinkable but it is sweet, with some chocolate malts.

Seeyoulator is a very drinkable beer for its sweetness and alcohol but favors the caramel sweetness over the classic dry-malty taste and texture of the Salvators and Optimators.

Boulevards stab at the style starts with a deep copper, mohogany color which carries a mild haze. A billowing off white head climbs up the glass and holds on for dear life to deliver a fantastic head retention and lacing. A handsome look despite the haze.

Understated aromas of caramels and fresh bread dough give the first impressions and then releasing fruity cherries, dried berries, and dates as the beer warms. Very sweet with the caramel notes and not as complex as I would have hoped.

Flavors pick up on the simplistic caramel taste which chases the beer from start to finish. Other flavors of cherries, apples, grapes, dates, and figs seem to be both ester and grain related. The light bread/doughy flavors are there but cannot struggle for significance because of the ordinant amount of caramel flavor. Alcohol flavor replaces hop flavor for balance and complexity but still seems hot as the beer moves into the second pour from the 750ml. bottle. The beer has little else to offer- light on the herbal German hops and timid on the comcplex malt components that make Dopplebocks special.

Sweetly malty and weighted up front, the beer begins to fade into a much more drinkable and fleeting sweetness. But the beer halts at mid-palate and finishes quite sweet anyway. Along with the sugarly finish the beer pushes a bit with aggressive alcohols that seem fusal at times- a young beer can do this. Still, there's a cooling/minty finish to the beer that gives a dry impression- quite intriguing.

Though this is a solid beer, it lacks the complexities of a long boil or complex mash that classic Dopplebocks exhibit. The lagering also seems misplaced with too much ester quality and hot-ness. As far as the recipe goes, I'd like to see more bread crust or light toast flavor injected here- the doughy light bread character isn't doing enough. Despite the criticism, there's a lot of promise to the beer as long as you like them sweeter and more alcoholic.

Appearance: Pours a clear tawny color with a modest head; just fair in the lacing department, as well

Smell: Fruity caramel, with a dried cherry character; just a hint of cedar but if it weren't on the label I am not sure I would have picked it up

Taste: Starts out with a dry, caramel character that quickly adds the cherry fruit elements; by mid-palate, the cedar aspect arrives to add another dimension; after the swallow, the caramel malt flavors dominate along with a bit of booziness in the finish; in the aftertaste, the cedar aging finally moves to prominence

Mouthfeel: Medium body with low carbonation

Overall: Not quite there in the style, with a lack of both bold flavor and thicker mouthfeel; decent, but I can understand why this was retired

Pours a medium brown for with a slight off who're head and some very light lacing. Those nose brings a touch of caramel plus some breadm. Very light fruits plus a bit of alcohol in tue background. The flavor is similar with some caramel and bready malt. There is a bit of alcohol but not much else. Mouthfel has a hot of body with low carbonation. Okay, though I would not seek this out again.

Poured from a 750ml bottle into my Freetail pint glass. It poured a crystal clear mahogany color with a thin off-white head barely covering the top of the beer. Very nice color but not the best head for the style.

The aroma has a malty sweetness to it with some caramel and brown sugar flavors coming through. Some tart fruit, pear or grape flavors come through as well as just a bit of a woody, cedar flavor. Not bad but it seemed strange for the style, something just didn't seem right and the flavors didn't mix well.

The taste shows a lot of grape and pear tartness to it. It finishes very dry cedar, woody flavor that just doesn't help it at all. A pretty strong bitter flavor is present as well, especially after the finish. A bit of the malty and caramel flavor comes through in the background but it's not enough to save it. The dry, bitter, tart fruitiness it had just didn't work for me for the style.

The mouthfeel is on the lighter side for the style and carbonation is moderate. Drinkability isn't good for me, I probably won't finish my glass. The dry, tart, woody and bitter flavor just didn't fit with this beer at all. I got almost no malty and caramel flavors that I love in Doppelbock's. Did not care for this one at all. I can't tell if something was wrong with this one or the cedar aging really just added all of those flavors I didn't like in it. Batch # was 2010-01.

Glazed terra cotta with a beautiful bronze-like glow when afternoon sunshine enters the glass. The gently rocky crown of foam is equal parts beige and pastel orange, which is a good color match for the beer beneath. Less than abundant lace is the only misstep.

The color and the nose suggest that SD isn't the darkest doppel in the world. Actually, there isn't much noted on the sniff. Maybe a hint of spicy cedar, though I could never have gotten there without the words 'aged on cedar' on the label. Warming helps.

Seeyoulator Doppelbock is not boldly flavored. That's always a danger when big beer of a malt-dominant style doesn't use the darker malts and doesn't have hops and Belgian yeast to fall back on. Warming helps a little, just not enough.

This Smokestack Series brew actually tastes more like an Oktoberfest than a doppelbock. It's also more bitter than either one of those styles, which isn't necessarily a negative as far as this hophead is concerned. The brewery says that 'banana esters' are present. Possibly, but they're extremely subtle... if they're present at all.

The flavor profile includes brown bread croutons, steely caramel, bitter tea leaves, cedar chips and a pepperiness that is trying hard to kick this sucker into the next highest gear. Even though the beer isn't boozy, it drinks like every bit of the 8.5% ABV.

The mouthfeel is the highlight. It's medium for the style, has a firm-silky smoothness and a lip sticky finish. Not to mention carbonation that is right in the sweet spot for either sipping or gulping. The former is recommended.

Boulevard states that they chose the name Seeyoulator Doppelbock because this offering says 'auf wiedersehen to tradition'. It might have been a better effort if the brewers had embraced tradition rather than spurning it. Although this is my least favorite Smokestack brew to date, it's far from a complete loss. Doppelbock fans will probably find enough to like to justify the purchase price.

Sudsy patchy off white lace, tawny and clear. Spicy cedar lightly blankets the malt nose, bready and spicy. Massive crispness give a deep smoothness to the thick medium bodied brew. Full malt jacket covers the palate with a beautiful cedar tamed overtone. Mild hopping works out great, cedar takes care of the rest. Toasted bread, hint of grape-skin and a clean measure of dried grass shows a glimpse of a big complexity that shows more layers at the beer warms up a bit. Semi-dry with a spicy finish.

Fall in love at first sip and it gets better after that ... a dreamy beer. Seriously, this is an epic extreme beer. While this started off as a Doppelbock it is hard to really judge it as one solely once it touched the cedar.

S: Sweet toffee, caramel, miscellaneous dark fruits, and just some mild brown sugar give this one a fairly traditional doppelbock aroma. However, the cedar wood comes through shortly after, as does a bit of booze.

T: The wood seems to be even more pronounced on the palate and gives a weird spiciness. There is a nice caramel and toffee sweetness with some mild bread and fruit notes. A touch of booze and maybe even some vanilla.

Pours a clear, amber color. One and one half inch head of an off-white color. Great retention and great lacing. Smells of sweet malt, hops, alcohol, and slight caramel. Fits the style of a Doppelbock. Mouth feel is smooth and slightly thick with an average carbonation level. Tastes of sweet malt, alcohol, hops, and very slight citrus. Overall, a good dop., but not great.

Review from 5/2010 notes. Poured into a Gulden Draak tulip. Pours a nice dark orange amber, with abundant carbonation and a fast fading orange head leaving lacing. The carbonation is fun to watch, but does not stay aggressive in the glass. Nice malt, fruit aroma with a hint of cedar. Very pleasant dark and light fruits, sweet malt and caramel up front, malty middle and an odd hoppy and bitter finish that was pleasant, probably from the cedar. I like this a lot. This was one of my favorite Doppelbocks; I see that it is listed as retired here and is not listed on the Boulevard website. I'm very disappointed and wish I could have stashed some of these away.

Poured into a Celebrator chalice a nice cloudy amber color, nice carbonation, nice one-finger creamy off-white head, with some nice sticky lacing left behind. The nose is malty, slight yeast note, caramel, and slightly spiced. The taste is sweet, malty, a little yeast note, with some spices. Medium body, the ABV is hidden very well. Drinkable, a nice brew. Glad to have had a chance to try it.

Beer has a medium to light body, pretty hoppy, lots of carbonation in the mouth, nice bitter and clean finish. The more I drink it the more bitter it gets. It becomes a little off putting and I think it could have gotten away with a lot less bitterness.